Emerging global cities: Structural similarities and historical differences

Abstract

The evolution of the capitalist economy over the centuries has been characterized by the rise of one or a few cities to a position of prominence as centers for coordination of financial commercial activities worldwide. Sassen identified three such “global cities” in the contemporary era: London, New York, and Tokyo. More recently, however, other cities have risen that concentrate similar command-and-control function over their respective regional peripheries. We trace the emergence of those such “new global” cities— Dubai, Miami, and Singapore —highlighting the structural similarities of their economies and their rather different historical trajectories. Politics and a legal system anchored in English Common Law are elements found in all three cities, but in very different forms and with different functions. We examine the political evolution of each of these cities and the challenges facing them in the short-to-medium term. The experiences of these three cities offer key lessons for those aspiring to a similar position of global prominence in the future.